Gamers Sign Open Letter Against Online Harassment

Andreas Zecher from Spaces of Play called on the gaming community to report threats or harassing speech.

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In the wake of a female blogger receiving threats over her online critiques of the gaming industry, dozens of gamers have taken a public stand against harassment in the industry.

In an open letter posted to Medium, Andreas Zecher from independent games studio Spaces of Play called on the gaming community to report threats or harassing speech.

Several of Zecher's colleagues signed on, as did others from independent labels and major players like Infinity Ward, Bioware, Ubisoft, Riot Games, and Dice.

"We believe that everyone, no matter what gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion or disability has the right to play games, criticize games and make games without getting harassed or threatened," the letter says. "It is the diversity of our community that allows games to flourish."

"If you see threats of violence or harm in comments on Steam, YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook or reddit, please take a minute to report them on the respective sites," it continues. "If you see hateful, harassing speech, take a public stand against it and make the gaming community a more enjoyable space to be in."

The pledge comes shortly after Anita Sarkeesian was forced to flee her home after receiving messages on Twitter in which an individual threatened the lives of her and her parents. Sarkeesian runs Feminist Frequency, "a video webseries that critically explores the representations of women in pop culture narratives."

This is not the first time Sarkeesian has dealt with online abuse. In a 2012 TedX talk, she detailed the backlash she received over a Kickstarter campaign intended to fund her exploration of representations of women in pop culture - an effort that eventually raised almost $160,000.

But Sarkeesian is not alone. Recently, Zoe Quinn, the game developer behind Depression Quest, also found herself confronted with online abuse after an ex-boyfriend wrote a blog post that suggested she traded sexual favors for media coverage of her game on sites like Kotaku. She denied it and evidence of it having occurred was scant. But the Internet backlash was swift and harsh, and those who came to her defense also found themselves the subject of threats and hacks.

On Twitter today, Quinn said that "Signing open letters is easy and risk free. Speaking up & helping people & changing culture is less so. Please keep going."

"I saw a LOT of people on that list be silent over the last 2 wks," she added.

Sarkeesian, meanwhile, said on Twitter she has been told there is little the police can do about online threats, though "federal law enforcement does seem to take online threats more seriously at least."

Police: If you keep getting these threats for your work why don't you stop? - Me (incredulous): Um... because I believe it's important.

Chloe Albanesius has been with PCMag.com since April 2007, most recently as Executive Editor for News and Features. Prior to that, she worked for a year covering financial IT on Wall Street for Incisive Media. From 2002 to 2005, Chloe covered technology policy for The National Journal's Technology Daily in Washington, DC. She has held internships at NBC's Meet the Press, washingtonpost.com, the Tate Gallery press office in London, Roll Call, and Congressional Quarterly. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from American University...
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